A bomb explosion during Friday prayers at a mosque in South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, injured four worshippers, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) district chief Maulana Abdullah Nadeem.
According to the news agency ANI, the blast occurred at 1:45 pm (local time) at Maulana Abdul Aziz Mosque on Azam Warsak Bypass Road. According to district police officer (DPO) Asif Bahader, the improvised explosive device (IED) was planted inside the mosque’s pulpit, reported Dawn.
“In the explosion, Abdullah Nadeem, the district chief of JUI, was seriously wounded,” Bahader told Dawn. He added that three other injured individuals—Rehmanullah, Mullah Noor and Shah Behran—sustained minor injuries.
All victims were immediately shifted to the district headquarters hospital in Wana for medical treatment.
“The police have also reached the site of the blast and are collecting evidence,” Bahader said, adding that an investigation was underway.
According to ANI, mosques in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have frequently been targeted, particularly during Friday prayers, when large congregations gather.
Just last month, a suicide blast killed six people, including JUI-S leader Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, and injured 15 others at the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary in Nowshera.
In a deadlier attack on January 30, 2023, a bomb ripped through a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines area, killing at least 59 people and injuring 157 others, as per Dawn. The death toll later rose to 101, according to the KP health department. The suicide bomber detonated the explosives inside the mosque, collapsing parts of the prayer hall while nearly 400 worshippers, mostly police officers, were present.
Similarly, in 2022, a suicide bombing at Jamia Masjid Koocha Risaldar in Peshawar’s old city killed multiple worshippers. The bomber first shot police personnel at the mosque’s entrance before detonating himself inside the hall where a large congregation was offering Friday prayers, reported Dawn.
Security officials in South Waziristan have begun examining the blast site to determine who was responsible for planting the IED inside the mosque. While no group has claimed responsibility yet, authorities remain concerned about the rising attacks on religious places in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
